Thursday, June 7, 2018

June 7th...This Day in History (The first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley + others)

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First successful ascent of Mt. McKinley 1913

On this day in 1913, Hudson Stuck, an Alaskan missionary, leads
the first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, the highest point on the
American continent at 20,320 feet.

Stuck, an accomplished amateur mountaineer, was born in London in
1863. After moving to the United States, in 1905 he became archdeacon of
the Episcopal Church in Yukon, Alaska,
where he was an admirer of Native Indian culture and traveled Alaska’s
difficult terrain to preach to villagers and establish schools.

In March 1913, the adventure-seeking Stuck set out from Fairbanks for
Mt. McKinley with three companions, Harry Karstens, co-leader of the
expedition, Walter Harper, whose mother was a Native Indian, and Robert
Tatum, a theology student. Their arduous journey was made more
challenging by difficult weather and a fire at one of their camps, which
destroyed food and supplies. However, the group persevered and on June
7, Harper, followed by the rest of the party, was the first person to
set foot on McKinley’s south peak, considered the mountain’s true
summit. (In 1910, a group of climbers had reached the lower north peak.)

Stuck referred to the mountain by its Athabascan Indian name, Denali,
meaning “The High One.” In 1889, the mountain, over half of which is
covered with permanent snowfields, was dubbed Densmores Peak, after a
prospector named Frank Densmore. In 1896, it was renamed in honor of
Senator William McKinley, who became president that year.

Mount McKinley National Park was established as a wildlife refuge in
1917. Harry Karstens served as the park’s first superintendent. In 1980,
the park was expanded and renamed Denali National Park and Preserve.
Encompassing 6 million acres, the park is larger than Massachusetts.

Hudson Stuck died in Alaska on October 10, 1920. Today, over 1,000
hopeful climbers attempt to scale Mt. McKinley each year, with about
half of them successfully reaching their goal.

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